Since 2015, India’s global capability centres (GCCs) have seen a dramatic shift in reputation, as evident in the growing number of global roles based in India.
The number of global leaders, as Karthik Padmanabhan, managing partner, Zinnov, told AIM, has increased from just over 115 in 2015 to more than 6,500 today. These leaders encompass diverse business functions such as product management, digital strategy, data science, and risk governance.
By 2030, this number is predicted to hit 30,000, fuelled by the aggressive integration of digital technologies across industry verticals.
However, this shift is not limited to incremental progress; it represents a rudimentary change in how Indian GCCs are viewed and leveraged globally.
As Ekroop Caur, secretary of electronics and IT, the government of Karnataka, pointed out in an interview with AIM, “In Bengaluru alone, we have more than 2000 global roles, which means that people sitting out of Bengaluru are managing that segment of the business for the company across the globe.”
This sharp rise compels us to ask a pivotal question: What has changed to shift India’s positioning from cost arbitrage to skill arbitrage—and now to leadership arbitrage?
The answer lies in the strategic adoption of digital technologies, particularly AI, ML, and GenAI. Indian GCCs have embedded them deeply into their functions, enabling real-time decision-making, personalised customer experiences, predictive analytics, and innovation at scale.
As a result, GCCs in India are now repositioned as global innovation hubs.
The number of global roles also reflects the confidence that global companies now place in their India-based centres. With access to deep domain expertise, scalable talent, and world-class AI infrastructure, these GCCs are disrupting every industry, from fintech and telecom to healthcare and retail.
AI as a Catalyst for Strategic Growth
Within GCCs, as per Zinnov data, 78% are investing in GenAI training programs, and 37% are running pilots to test AI-driven learning applications in real time. This suggests that digital upskilling is now a core mandate.
Resonating the same, Snigdha Ghosh Ray, VP of banking & payment at Diebold Nixdorf, told AIM that AI is no longer a choice for Indian GCCs, it is an imperative. It is the Brahmastra that will define the next era of leadership, innovation, and enterprise-wide value creation.
“Over the past decade and a half, my experience in senior global roles across Diebold Nixdorf, PayPal, and ADP has reinforced one undeniable truth: the early adoption of AI/ML and GenAI by India’s GCCs accelerates strategic value creation,” she added.
Adding a word of caution, Jay Doshi, MD, corporate units, digital & India at BT Group, told AIM, “It’s not merely about automating tasks but fundamentally reshaping how we operate and deliver value.”
A standout example, according to Doshi, is BT’s AI-powered ‘Ask Me Anything’ platform, which equips employees with instant access to information, reducing delays and enhancing productivity. By embedding AI across functions—from product development to customer service—BT Group has created a seamless and intelligent operational backbone.
Talking about the AI-first approach, Ray also mentioned that “AI/ML and GenAI have redefined our capabilities, allowing us to transcend traditional product development and drive game-changing business outcomes.”
She added that the company’s AI-enabled chatbot reduced customer issue resolution times by 60%, while knowledge management bots increased operational efficiency by 400%, drastically cutting the cost-to-serve.
GenAI and copilots have streamlined compliance with network scheme mandates, shrinking timelines from weeks to days.
Leadership and Responsibility on a Global Scale
Previously, in an interview with AIM, Raja Jamalamadaka, country head and board director at Roche Information Solutions India, said, “Future global leaders will not simply manage teams in one location but oversee diverse, cross-cultural teams worldwide.”
These leaders must see the big picture—spotting industry shifts, understanding geopolitical changes, and finding new business opportunities.
In the next five years, Jamalamadaka believes the success of digital centres will be measured based on how many global roles they contribute and the value they generate.
Padmanabhan added that several executives with global mandates have played pivotal roles in transforming GCCs into strategic hubs, having built and scaled global functions across multiple organisations. Their ability to lead with empathy, context, and commercial clarity has redefined what it means to “lead from India”.
As the leader of digital experiences for over 100,000 colleagues worldwide, Doshi expressed that his role involves much more than managing technology infrastructure.
This encompasses strategic initiatives like modernising ERP systems, driving collaboration through digital tools, and setting the technological direction for the organisation. One of the key milestones in his career at BT has been unifying fragmented ERP systems into a single SAP platform—streamlining operations across finance, HR, and payroll.
Ray added, “Throughout this journey, my approach to customer-centric solutions has undergone a paradigm shift, embracing a data and AI-first mindset. It has required continuous learning, regulatory awareness, and fostering a culture of innovation and experimentation.”
“The most notable testament to success was the creation of the global chief data scientist role in India GCC,” she concluded. This inflection point is the result of a decade-long maturity curve of both the ecosystem and its leaders.
Even though the Indian GCC ecosystem has matured over the years, as Padmanabhan added, currently, only around 9-10% of GCCs operate at the final maturity level.
As Padmanabhan mentioned, the biggest shift has been from team structuring to product ownership, which accounts for 40% of such GCCs.This means decision-making capabilities have grown significantly within these centres, with stronger leadership, better team structures, and greater ownership of product portfolios.
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